Wednesday, 22 March 2017

Why Mosul’s Great Mosque of al-Nuri matters

Why Mosul’s Great Mosque of al-Nuri matters

Iraqi government forces are closing in on the Great Mosque of al-Nuri in Mosul. With
its leaning minaret, it is one of the most famous landmarks in the Old
City. But it is also of great symbolic importance in the government's
battle against the jihadist group Islamic State (IS), which seized
control of the city in June 2014.

The mosque is where IS leader
Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi made a rare public appearance the following month
and gave a speech proclaiming the creation of a new "caliphate". The
Great Mosque is named after Nur al-Din Mahmoud Zangi, a Turkic ruler of
Mosul and Aleppo who ordered its construction in 1172, two years before
his death. Nur al-Din is famous for mobilising and unifying Muslim forces to wage jihad, or war in the path of God, against the Christian Crusaders.

During
his 28-year rule, Nur al-Din captured Damascus and laid the foundations
for the success of Saladin, who served as his commander in Egypt before
founding the Ayyubid dynasty and retaking Jerusalem in 1187. Nur al-Din is also revered by jihadists for his efforts to make Sunni Muslim orthodoxy prevail over Shiism.

Despite its connection to such an illustrious figure, all that remains from the original mosque is the leaning minaret, sosdme columns and the mihrab, a niche indicating the direction of Mecca.
The
cylindrical minaret is covered with elaborate brickwork inspired by
Iranian designs and topped with a small, white-plastered dome. At the time of its completion, the minaret was 45m (150ft) high. But by the time the Ibn Battuta
visited Mosul in the 14th Century, the minaret was already leaning
significantly and had acquired its nickname - "al-Hadba", or "the
humpback".

The cause of the tilt is not fully known. According to local
tradition, the minaret bowed to the Prophet Muhammad as he passed
overhead while ascending to heaven, ignoring the fact that he died
centuries before it was built.

But experts believe
it is caused by the prevailing north-westerly winds, the effect of the
sun on the bricks on the southern side, or the weak gypsum used to hold
the bricks together. Bombs that struck Mosul during the Iran-Iraq
War also broke underground pipes near the base of the minaret, allowing
sewage to collect in pools and weaken the foundations. In 2012, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (Unesco) calculated
that the minaret was leaning 2.5m (8.3ft) off the perpendicular axis,
and warned it was suffering from serious structural weakness and at risk
of collapse.

On 2 June 2014, the agency announced that it had begun a conservation programme with the Nineveh provincial government that was aimed at stabilising the minaret.

But later that week, deadly clashes erupted in Mosul as militants
from what was then known as Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (Isil
or Isis) launched a surprise assault. After
overrunning the city, they swept southwards towards the capital
Baghdad, seizing control of much of the provinces of Nineveh, Salahuddin
and Diyala within a matter of days.

On 12 June, militants summarily killed the imam of the Grand Mosque, Mohammed al-Mansouri, for refusing to join them, according to the UN. At the end of June, Isis formally declared the establishment of a "caliphate" - a state governed in accordance with Sharia by God's deputy on Earth, or caliph. It
named Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi as Caliph Ibrahim and demanded allegiance
from Muslims worldwide. The group renamed itself Islamic State, dropping
the mention of Iraq and the Levant.

"God,
the Great and Almighty, has bestowed upon your mujahideen brothers the
grace of victory and conquest, and has enabled them to do that after
long years of waging jihad, showing patience, and fierce fighting
against the enemies of God," he added. "They have hurried to declare the
caliphate and empower an imam. This is the duty imposed on the
Muslims."

Echoing the inaugural address by the first caliph, his
namesake Abu Bakr, Baghdadi stressed that he was "not the best among
you", adding: "If you see that I am right, help me. However, if you see
that I am wrong, advise and guide me."

Mosul residents said the congregation were ordered to attend the Friday service, searched thoroughly on arrival and told where and how to sit. And at the end of July, residents complained that IS militants had attempted to blow up the Hadba minaret
as part of an effort to destroy shrines and tombs revered by Muslims or
non-Muslims that the jihadist group considers idolatrous.

Two
residents said that when militants arrived at the Great Mosque carrying
high explosives, a crowd rushed to the courtyard and linked arms to form
a human chain around the minaret. The militants reportedly
backed down and left once the witnesses warned the fighters: "If you
blow up the minaret, you will have to kill us too."

The residents
were sure the militants would return, but the minaret is still standing
as Iraqi police units advance towards it as part of an offensive to
retake Mosul that was launched by the government in October 2016.